Chapter 34 : Might Makes Right

Chapter 34: Might Makes Right

The warriors of the Temple of the Mad Gale who had awakened were more shocked to learn that the man they had charged at was the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult of the Bright Cult than by the death of Gyepil.

It was Cold Blade Blood, who had returned a step late, who took charge of pressing them and uncovering the full story behind Ga Hwa-yeong and the master of the Temple of the Mad Gale.

To be honest, there was no need to use brute force or threats.

When he was with Yul Han, he might have been a mild guide, but Cold Blade Blood was a ferocious man whose name was listed among the Forbidden Mask Eight Demons, figures one should avoid encountering if possible.

And so it was Cold Blade Blood who asked the questions.

If things went wrong, he was the kind of man who would swing his blade first rather than his fist, so the Temple of the Mad Gale warriors had no choice but to answer whatever he asked.

After listening to everything the Temple of the Mad Gale warriors said as they answered question after question, Cold Blade Blood turned to look at the Vice Cult Leader.

“Putting their stories together, it really does sound like she was being completely sold off.”

“Golden Flower Manor—was the family of that young lady Ga Hwa-yeong really in such dire straits that they had to offer up their daughter to the master of the Temple of the Mad Gale?”

At Yul Han’s question, the answer came from Flashing Light Blood, who had been listening nearby.

“It’s probably because the Silk Road to the Western Regions has been blocked lately.”

“Blocked?”

“Yes. The Mongols, who were pushed north, have been stirring up major trouble, and the authorities closed Yumen Pass—the Central Plains’ gateway to the Silk Road—several years ago now. For Golden Flower Manor, which focused on silk trade with the Western Regions, it must be a severe situation.”

At Flashing Light Blood’s explanation, Yul Han asked with a puzzled look.

“Then does that mean if they give their daughter to the Temple of the Mad Gale, the Mongols will open the road?”

“Ah! No, not that. The Temple of the Mad Gale can open a route to the Western Regions through the Tarim Basin that they control. It’s a road that goes beyond the Great Wall without passing through Yumen Pass.”

“Then wouldn’t it be enough to just go that way? Is there really a reason to offer their daughter to the Temple of the Mad Gale?”

At Yul Han’s question, Flashing Light Blood made an awkward expression.

“Well… we’ve never agreed to something like that with just empty words alone……”

“If it’s a matter of something like a toll, shouldn’t that be settled with money?”

“They’ll probably give money too. The Temple of the Mad Gale isn’t the kind of place to end things with just one woman.”

“Then why……?”

To Yul Han, who still looked unable to understand, Flashing Light Blood replied.

“They were probably afraid. They must have worried about being allowed through only to be robbed. Or they may have feared that the same road would be opened to other silk merchants as well.”

“Then sending Lady Ga Hwa-yeong was…….”

“As you’ve guessed, it’s something like a marriage alliance. We’re one family. So if I do well, you do well too. Let’s be the only ones who eat well and live well. That sort of meaning.”

At Flashing Light Blood’s words, Yul Han looked toward the carriage. It was an unfortunate story for Ga Hwa-yeong, but it wasn’t a misfortune that befell only her.

In truth, it was a story commonly seen in this era. Tales of daughters being sent off, as if sold, to marry into places they did not want to go for the sake of their families were all too common.

Of course, that didn’t mean it was right, but it also meant it wasn’t necessarily something that had to be stepped in to stop.

That was because one could not be free from responsibility for what would happen if one did stop it.

Perhaps thinking the same way, Flashing Light Blood spoke cautiously.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just leave things as they are and go? It might look like we’re meddling in another family’s affairs.”

He quietly watched the Vice Cult Leader, who was pondering without saying a word in response.

After a moment, the Vice Cult Leader opened his mouth.

“Golden Flower Manor. Is it a wealthy place?”

“Well…… I know the name, at least. From what I hear, they’re said to be one of the five great wealthy families of the Central Plains, and in silk trade, they’re probably the largest.”

At Flashing Light Blood’s answer, Yul Han asked with an expression as if he had made up his mind.

“Is it far from here?”

“Golden Flower Manor, you mean?”

“…….”

Seeing Yul Han silently nod in response to his own question, Flashing Light Blood answered.

“It’s in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu, so it’s not that far, but we would have to retrace the road we came on.”

With Flashing Light Blood wearing an uneasy expression, Yul Han said,

“Let’s go. To Lanzhou. And send them back.”

After confirming who Yul Han was referring to, Flashing Light Blood asked,

“Just like that?”

“Why, is there some reason we can’t?”

“Well…… they did recklessly charge at you, Vice Cult Leader. I thought that, as a warning, we might at least sever one or two of their limbs’ meridians before sending them back.”

It was extreme.

Of course, judging by Flashing Light Blood’s utterly calm gaze and expression, it was clear that this was considered natural in their way of thinking.

Even so.

“Just send them back. From now on, I will avoid unnecessary bloodshed as much as possible.”

At Yul Han’s firm voice, Flashing Light Blood smacked his lips in regret, but still sent the Temple of the Mad Gale warriors back without harming them.

To those departing, Yul Han added that he would personally visit the Temple of the Mad Gale soon to explain this matter.

Though they could not understand Yul Han’s intentions, upon hearing those words, the Temple of the Mad Gale warriors turned pale and ran off at full speed.

They were in such a hurry that they did not even take the corpse of their vice master, whose neck had been severed.

Whether the shock had been too great, or whether she had simply fallen asleep, Ga Hwa-yeong did not wake up easily.

With Ga Hwa-yeong still aboard, the carriage traveled through the night, heading back toward Gansu.

When Ga Hwa-yeong finally regained consciousness the next day, she said nothing, as if lost in thought.

And Yul Han asked her nothing.

Thus, as the carriage sunk into silence and traveled another full day, drawing closer to a city that looked familiar, Ga Hwa-yeong could no longer keep her mouth shut.

“Don’t tell me! We’re going to Lanzhou?”

At her question—spoken in a completely different tone from before, when she had used nothing but casual speech laced with curses—Yul Han nodded.

“We’re heading to your home.”

“Y-you…!”

“I understand perfectly why you made that choice, so there’s no need to look at me like that. At the very least, I’ll make sure you don’t have to marry into the Temple of the Mad Gale. I promise.”

“R-really…… you mean it?”

“Believe me. It’s better to trust people than to doubt them.”

At Yul Han’s answer, Ga Hwa-yeong fell silent and looked at him with a strange gaze. That blunt stare made Yul Han uncomfortable, and he cleared his throat and turned his eyes toward the window.

Half a day later, the carriage entered the streets of Lanzhou.

Just before entering the city, they unfurled the banner of the Bright Cult and revealed the insignia they had concealed, so everyone in Lanzhou immediately recognized where the carriage came from.

In Lanzhou—virtually the front yard of the Kongtong Sect, one of the pillars of the Hundred Paths—it was only natural for a commotion to arise when a Bright Cult carriage boldly entered.

The martial gates of Lanzhou, established by the Kongtong Sect’s lay disciples, were immediately stirred.

However, for reasons of their own, the Kongtong Sect’s Lanzhou branch remained silent and unmoving despite the agitation of the lay disciples.

It was because a message had come down ordering them, for the time being, to absolutely avoid any clash with the Bright Cult, perhaps due to sins they had committed.

As a result, though things were noisy, no one stepped forward to block the carriage.

Thanks to that, contrary to expectations, the carriage arrived at Golden Flower Manor without any particular conflict.

In the martial world, people spoke of a sharp divide between the Hundred Paths and the Demonic Path, locked in fierce struggle, but to merchants, both were nothing more than knife-wielding bandits.

The problem, of course, was that earning the hatred of those bandits meant one wouldn’t just lose one’s business, but one’s life.

That was why merchants bowed and scraped to both the Hundred Paths and the Demonic Path alike.

Trade was the same. Phrases like “sell only to the Hundred Paths” or “do business only with the Demonic Path” were things that could never hold true for merchants in the first place.

For that reason, when word arrived that a Bright Cult carriage had come calling, the master of Golden Flower Manor ran out barefoot.

These days, stories about the Vice Cult Leader traveling around in a carriage were widespread throughout the martial world.

Indeed, before this, there had never been a tale of a Bright Cult warrior using a carriage when entering the territory of the Hundred Paths.

When they entered Hundred Paths territory, they came crashing in like a landslide, swept everything away, and then withdrew like the ebbing tide.

Thus, Gaho-tae, the master of Golden Flower Manor, running out barefoot, was already certain that this was a visit from the Vice Cult Leader.

Sure enough, as soon as he stepped out through the main gate, the head of Golden Flower Manor’s guards hurried over with a completely frozen expression and whispered,

“The ones sitting on the driver’s seat are Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood of the Thirteen Bloods of the Bright Cult. It’s definitely the carriage carrying the Vice Cult Leader from the rumors.”

Without a word, the master of Golden Flower Manor nodded and stepped forward, clasping his fists.

“This humble Gaho of Golden Flower Manor greets the great heroes of the Bright Cult. Your visit is most welcome.”

At the fairly respectful greeting, Cold Blade Blood merely dipped his head slightly, then stepped down and opened the carriage door.

The master of Golden Flower Manor’s expectation that the Vice Cult Leader would emerge was neatly overturned.

“W-what! Y-you—why are you there?!”

With eyes too shocked to even speak properly, the master of Golden Flower Manor saw Ga Hwa-yeong stepping down from the carriage.

Then, just as he had expected after all, Yul Han descended from the carriage together with Blood Wolf.

Like the seasoned merchant he was, the master of Golden Flower Manor quickly recovered from his surprise and approached Yul Han, bowing deeply.

“Golden Flower Manor welcomes the Vice Cult Leader’s visit.”

“Thank you. On the way here, I happened to escort your daughter, who was on her way home. I hope this doesn’t cause any offense.”

“O-offense? How could it? I am only grateful. Vice Cult Leader.”

He had no choice but to be humble. The Vice Cult Leader of the rumors was a butcher among butchers, a genuine master who could wipe out people like them in an instant.

Thus, as the master of Golden Flower Manor bowed so deeply one might worry his back would snap, Yul Han asked,

“May we have a brief conversation?”

“A-ah! O-of course. Please, come inside. I will guide you.”

As Yul Han moved, following the master of Golden Flower Manor who personally led the way, Blood Wolf, Cold Blade Blood, and Ga Hwa-yeong followed behind.

Flashing Light Blood remained with the carriage left outside the gate.

As a result, the head guard, torn between whether he should follow to protect the master or remain to guard the main gate, hesitated—only for Flashing Light Blood to ask him crookedly,

“You’re not planning to just leave it standing here, are you?”

“Pardon? Ah! Y-yes. P-please bring the carriage inside.”

Only then did he hurriedly fling the gate wide open, and Flashing Light Blood drove the carriage into Golden Flower Manor.

As the carriage rolled inside and, some distance away, the Vice Cult Leader walked in together with the manor’s master, the guards of Golden Flower Manor—including the head guard—watched them with uneasy eyes.

It felt as though they were holding an ignited thunderclap bomb in their arms.

Facing Yul Han, the master of Golden Flower Manor asked,

“I’ve heard you’ve been having trouble because the routes are blocked.”

After glancing briefly at Ga Hwa-yeong, the master replied,

“Yes. It’s been several years since the state locked down the passes, so we’ve been struggling.”

“Then we’ll open that gate for you.”

“What do you mean by that……?”

At the master’s puzzled look, Yul Han said,

“As far as I know, all Silk Roads eventually pass through the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.”

“That’s true. Both the Northern Heavenly Mountains Route and the Southern Heavenly Mountains Route, which detour around the difficult-to-cross deserts, pass through Xinjiang.”

There was also a Western Regions route that went through Tibet, but compared to that, the two routes skirting the Heavenly Mountains were used far more often.

“Then this conversation will be simple. You must know that even if the Temple of the Mad Gale opens the road, no one can pass if we block it.”

At Yul Han’s words, the master of Golden Flower Manor was shocked, and Cold Blade Blood, who was seated alongside, also looked flustered.

There was one reason for that. Until now, the Bright Cult had never engaged in direct trade with merchants.

The Bright Cult took pride in the notion that if they needed something, they seized it—they did not trade.

Of course, the current Yul Han dismissed that as utter nonsense.

That was why the two of them were shocked by Yul Han’s proposal.

In truth, when Golden Flower Manor made its proposal to the Temple of the Mad Gale, it wasn’t only because they wanted passage through the Tarim Basin.

From the past, the Eighteen Demon Sects had also served as proxy trading partners for the Bright Cult.

In other words, it included the Temple of the Mad Gale acting as intermediary so that merchants were tacitly permitted to pass through the Heavenly Mountains, where the Bright Cult had entrenched itself.

For that, the Temple of the Mad Gale would probably have to offer a significant portion of the wealth it received from Golden Flower Manor to the Bright Cult.

Even so, just the scraps left over would still amount to a considerable profit for the Temple of the Mad Gale.

It was, in a sense, a case of both sides benefiting.

And yet, it was none other than the Vice Cult Leader of the Bright Cult who was stepping forward to break that existing framework.

“Is this…… truly what you mean?”

The master of Golden Flower Manor’s stunned question showed that his shock was no exaggeration.

To him, Yul Han replied.